Changing His Ways
by memories7
Summary: Remember when Ranger said he could make Stephanie forget about Morelli if he tried? Well... Spoilers through 11


Stephanie woke to the sound of someone making coffee. Her first thought was _who is it this time? _She wasn't surprised to see someone had broken into her apartment. It happened on a regular basis. What did surprise her was who it was. Ranger was making _coffee?_ What is this world coming to?

Still, she wasn't quite sure what to do. Ever since that night he collected on his "price" things had been a bit tense between them. Morelli was still on-again, off-again (currently in the off state), and she still hadn't chosen between the two men in her life.

Morelli was more in the comfort zone since she had known him her whole life and she was entirely sure what it was _he_ wanted. Well, almost anyway. But there was always that one annoying little fact… he wanted her to be a stay-at-home wife, and she wanted to _do_ something. She didn't want anyone telling her who to be. Besides, why could he be a cop and she couldn't do anything dangerous?

She had quit working for her cousin Vinnie's bail bonds company as a fugitive apprehension agent (a.k.a. bounty hunter) and tried other jobs for a while, but she just couldn't escape the job and went to work for Ranger. This made Morelli as jealous as hell, afraid that Ranger would take his place in Stephanie's heart (something there was a definite risk of if he didn't wake up soon and accept who she was).

Ranger was the other man in her life. He was a kick-ass bounty hunter, sometimes thought of as more than human, and Stephanie was _very_ attracted to him. Problem was, she was half-afraid of him as well. He was a health-guru and had a body to die for, but he was dangerous and very mysterious. She didn't know quite _what_ to think of him, and often felt guilty for the attraction, maybe even love, that she felt for him whenever she was with Morelli.

_Ranger was making coffee?_ she thought again in amazement. _He was making something not entirely healthy?_ She stood there and stared as he took a sip.

"What are you staring at me for, Babe?" Ranger asked in amusement.

She finally found her voice. "You're drinking coffee," she stated.

"Yes." Master of the short answer.

"But it's not healthy."

"True."

She was about to say something more (she wasn't sure what), but Ranger got up and walked towards her. The sexual attraction she felt started to grow, and she suddenly became self-conscious about her clothes, or lack of them (she was just wearing underpants and a shirt). She started to stutter. "W-w-wait… I…"

"What, Babe?"

She couldn't respond as he walked closer and kissed her, a long, slow kiss that left her feeling that maybe she was wearing too many clothes after all. She compulsively pulled him nearer. "Good morning," he said.

"What are you doing here this early in the morning? It's my day off." Then a sneaking suspicion crept into her mind. "You're not going to make me run, are you?"

"No." He was dressed in black and the ever-present gun was at his side. "I had another kind of exercise in mind."

By the look in his eyes, she knew what kind of exercise he was talking about. She swallowed. She would have backed up if she weren't already against the wall.

"Pay up time," he said. "For using my apartment."

"Wha-what? But…"

"I lied." Then he pulled her towards the bed.

* * *

It was a number of hours and a glass of wine later before she started to feel the guilt. Or rather, should have felt the guilt. For some reason, she didn't even care if Morelli called. _Oh shit,_ she thought. _Didn't Ranger say he could make me forget Morelli if he put his mind to it? Did he decide that Morelli just wasn't good enough for me? Or was it that he was sick of me running back to someone who would only hurt me again?_ She had to agree there, for once thinking rationally about her relationship with Morelli. _Isn't it too early to tell, though? Couldn't I be wrong about this one?_ She called Ranger.

"Yo."

She got right to the point. "Did you try to make me try to forget about Morelli?" I asked.

"…Yes."

"I think you succeeded."

"I'm sorry, Babe."

"Don't be. He would just hurt me again."

"I'm glad you realized, but I hate being the reason."

"Really?"

"Shit," he said and disconnected.

_Great, _she thought. _Now I don't care about Morelli, and Ranger may never make a commitment. What will I say to my mother?_


End file.
